From Grainlady in 2016 "I teach cooking/nutrition classes at the Food Bank (and other venues), and one tip I give people of limited means, and the elderly on fixed incomes, is to purchase the largest bag of frozen mixed vegetables they can afford. Leave a portion mixed (for adding to soup, shepherd's pie, casseroles...) and then separate the rest so they will now have separate containers of corn, green beans, peas, broccoli, etc., depending on what combination they purchased. This will give them the biggest variety and is a huge money saver. The biggest problem with frozen vegetables, whether they are commercially prepared or from your garden, there are no enzymes left due to processing. We still need foods in our diet that provide enzymes (http://www.getting-started-with-healthy-eating.com/enzymes-in-food.html). Another favorite frozen vegetable I keep in the freezer are petit whole green beans (Aldi); and I like to keep some frozen chopped onion or onion/pepper combination on hand (a quick pizza topping). I typically use more fresh chives in cooking than I do onions, so freezing onion keep them readily available. When fresh from the garden aren't available, I prefer freeze-dried to frozen, since they are as close to fresh-picked as a commercial product can get, plus they maintain their enzymes through processing. For the "fresh only" crowd. Unless you grow and harvest it yourself, there's no such thing as "fresh" produce in the store. This is why I grow sprouts, micro-greens, and grow and juice wheatgrass, along with growing fresh herbs in a sunny south window. Even in the middle of winter I have REAL fresh vegetables. There is also a favorite vegetable we typically eat raw that is actually more nutritious once cooked - CARROTS. Skip the "baby" carrots, bagged carrots, and get some with the greens still attached since they are fresher, and the greens are also edible. "Cooked whole carrots served with olive oil have up to eight times more beta-carotene than raw baby carrots." Cooking carrots make some of the nutrients more bioavailable, and choose sautéed or steamed methods to help retain more of the food value. If you cook carrots whole, and THEN slice/chop them after being cooked, you'll get more nutrients than if you cut them before you cook them. They are best eaten with some type of oil or fat since beta-carotene is a fat-soluble nutrient that needs to be coated in fat for greatest absorption. The highest concentration of nutrients is just below the skin, so scrub carrots, rather than peel them. If you can find purple carrots, you'll hit the nutrition jack-pot! Sweet potatoes - Steaming, roasting, or baking can double their antioxidant value, but boiling reduces it. The skin is more nutritious than the flesh, so scrub, rather than peel, sweet potatoes. -Grainlady" https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4028525/supermarket-frozen-vegetables#n=41 6 Likes Save July 17, 2016 at 6 ETA: Several posts were deleted after posting, so are no longer there. They seemed to be the ones poking the most fun at the comment.

Since I like Cap'n Crunch as a cereal, when I saw it on the menu at a local resturant I decided to try it. It was good.... certainly not gourmet but I actually liked it. So I looked for a recipe and used this one: Planet Hollywood Cap'n Crunch Chicken Recipe By : magazine Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Chicken Planet Hollywood Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 2 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal 1 1/2 cups Corn flakes 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 2 pounds chicken breast -- cut in 1oz. tenders vegetable oil -- for frying Creole mustard sauce -- (separate recipe) Coarsely grind or crush the Cap'n Crunch and cornflakes. Set aside. Beat the egg with the milk. Set aside. Stir together the flour, onion and garlic powders and black pepper. Set aside. Dip the chicken pieces into the seasoned flour. Move around to coat well, then shake off excess flour. Dip into the egg wash, coating well, then dip into the Cap'n Crunch/Cornflakes mixture, coating well. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet to 325°F. Drop coated chicken tenders carefully into the hot oil and cook until golden brown and fully cooked: 3 to 5 minutes depending on the size of the tenders. Drain and serve immediately with Creole mustard sauce. Makes 8 servings. I've also baked it and that turned out good too, for that I used larger pieces of chicken. Nancy

That sounds good. I have renewed my interest in Brussels sprouts of late. I hated them growing up, because my mother overcooked them, and they were bitter and smushy. Once I was on my own, I discovered (I can't remember how) that they were quite tasty if cooked until just tender, without turning olive green. I always had them with mayo for a dip, though, the way we'd eaten them when I was a kid. I got the idea once to halve them and put them cold on a salad, and that was added to my Brussels sprouts repertoire. Then a bit ago, I came across a recipe that involved stir frying them instead of steaming or boiling, and that has set me going again...I even cooked some on the BBQ the other night, and I've added them to the broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower category in terms of what dishes to use them in. I found a recipe the other day that involved thin-slicing them to quick saute like shredded cabbage...haven't tried that yet. However, it did give me the idea to thin slice them like that to add to a light-style peppery cold slaw (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, green onions & a black pepper, tarragon vinegar vinaigrette with EVO, sugar & salt).

Here is another recipe I have used for many years; it always gets rave reviews. To my way of thinking, this is one of those recipes that tastes like you have spent hours preparing the dish from scratch. Toasted Almond Pudding 1 stick margarine -- melted and cooled 1 cup flour 7 ounce can coconut 1 cup blanched-slivered almonds 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 3.4 oz boxes French vanilla instant pudding 2 cups milk 8 ounce tub Cool Whip® Mix margarine, coconut, flour, brown sugar, and almonds together. Put in a large jelly roll pan or a large cookie sheet with very shallow sides. Bake at 325 degrees, stirring frequently, until mixture is brown. Cool and reserve some for topping. Mix together vanilla pudding, milk, and cool whip; chill. Spread toasted almond/coconut mixture evenly in bottom of 9 X 13 glass dish. With a light touch spread the pudding mixture evenly over the almond/coconut mixture. Sprinkle the top with reserved almond/coconut mixture. Refrigerate. NOTE: I have used this recipe for many years and have learned that browning the coconut mixture at 325 degrees is just too hot of an oven. I heat the oven to 325, then turn it down to 300 degrees. You do have to watch and stir very frequently.